Wegmans Approach on Food Safety

Wegmans Approach on Food Safety

GFSI China Focus Day, October 16th, 2019

Gillian KelleherVice President of Food Safety & QA

Wegmans Food Markets

Background on Wegmans • Founded in 1916• Family owned • Headquartered in Rochester, New York • 50,000 employees• 100 stores• 7 states • $9B+ in sales

Our Stores

“Helping Customers Live Healthier Better Lives through Food.”

1916

Today

1974

Our History

What We Believe

At Wegmans, we believe that good people, working toward a common goal, can accomplish anything they set out to do.

In this spirit, we set our goal to be the very best at serving the needs of our customers. Every action we take should be made with this in mind.

We also believe that we can achieve our goal only if we fulfill the needs of our own people.

To our CUSTOMERS and our PEOPLE we pledge continuous improvement, and we make the commitment: Every day you get our best

Our Values

•High standards are a way of life. We pursue excellence in everything we do.

•We care about the well-being and success of every person.

•We make a difference in every community we serve.

•We respect and listen to our people.

•We empower our people to make decisions that improve their work and benefit our customers and our company.

• Good Retailing Practices• Reinforce the Basics• Effective Employee Training• Store FS assessments

• Produce Safety• Annual Grower Training• Romaine Lettuce Taskforce• Organic Farm Partner-Growers

• Continuous Improvement

Store Food Safety

New Store Training

“Fit for Purpose” In-Store Specification Reviews

Supplier Audits

Manufacturing, Internal Audits, Verifications & Validations

Supplier Quality Assurance (SQA)

Culinary Innovation Center

Cheese Caves

Food sources include:• deli meats• cheeses (particularly soft-ripened varieties) • fermented raw-meat sausages • raw and cooked poultry • smoked finfish and smoked shellfish• raw fruits and vegetables• ice cream

Listeria bacteria are found widely in the environment in soil, including in decaying vegetation and water.

Listeria monocytogenes

• Longitudinal study – retail delis• Virginia Tech study – retail produce• Industry SSOPs – retail delis• Redesigned deli slicers• Food safety built into store design• Robust environmental monitoring programs in

manufacturing

Listeria monocytogenes

Romaine LettuceAt Wegmans, our mission is to help make great meals easy so our customers can live healthier, better lives through food.

Romaine is a healthy choice and we all have a vested interest in making sure products we sell customers are safe.

E.coli O157:H7

Embracing Romaine Lettuce Task Force recommendations

Wegmans Romaine Safety Initiative

Partnership• Government

• Regulators

• Industry

• Trade Associations

• Academia

In Conclusion• High Standards• Prevention• Knowledgeable People• Coaching & Educating• Partnership • Innovation• Continuous Improvement

Thank you!